Back in September, multiple access lanes leading from Fort Lee, N.J. to the George Washington Bridge were mysteriously shut down for four days, leading to hours of gridlock. Buses were stuck, children couldn’t get to school, and paramedic response times were delayed.

Now, newly released emails and text messages have linked some of New Jersey Governor Chris Christie’s top aides to the scandal, and Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich has alleged that the lane closures had ‘punitive overtones.’ Democrats investigating the situation assert that the move was orchestrated because Sokolich didn’t endorse the Republican governor’s re-election. Christie categorically denies involvement with the lane closures and held a press conference today apologizing for his staffers’ “abject stupidity.”

Here are five things to know about the ‘bridgegate’ scandal:

1. The lane closures turned Fort Lee into a “parking lot”

George Washington Bridge is the world’s busiest motor vehicle bridge, and around 70,000 cars travel the three access lanes each day, according to the New York Times. When all but one of the access lanes closed between Sept. 9 and Sept. 13, the results were catastrophic for the northern N.J. town of Fort Lee.

In multiple cases, emergency responders were delayed due to the traffic jam. On the first day of the blockage, “it took EMS seven minutes to reach an unconscious 91-year-old woman who later died of cardiac arrest at a hospital,” the Bergen Record reported Wednesday. “Although [EMS coordinator Paul Favia] did not say her death was directly caused by the delays, Favia noted that ‘paramedics were delayed due to heavy traffic on Fort Lee Road and had to meet the ambulance en-route to the hospital instead of on the scene.”

(Getty Images)

2. Newly released emails reveal the involvement of top Christie staffers

On Wednesday, the Bergen Record released a series of explosive emails revealing that some top Christie staffers ordered the lane closures, for apparently political reasons. “Time for some traffic problems in Fort Lee,” wrote Bridget Kelly, one of Christie’s deputy chiefs of staff, on Aug. 13. “Got it,” replied Christie’s director of capital projects David Wildstein, who ordered the lane closures three weeks later.

Another message exchange between Wildstein and an unknown person revealed their disdain for Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich. Upon hearing that school buses were stuck in traffic, the unknown texter wrote to Wildstein, “Is it wrong that I am smiling?”

“No,” Wildstein replied.

“I feel badly about the kids,” the person texted back. “I guess.”

“They are the children of Buono voters,” Wildstein answered, referring to Democrat Barbara Buono, who lost to Christie in November’s election.

Wildstein resigned on Dec. 6, saying the lane closures had become “a distraction.”

3. Christie denies involvement and has apologized for his staff’s actions

Christie released a statement on Jan. 8 denying any personal involvement in the lane closures. “What I’ve seen today for the first time is unacceptable,” he said. “I am outraged and deeply saddened to learn that not only was I misled by a member of my staff, but this completely inappropriate and unsanctioned conduct was made without my knowledge.”

4. Christie has fired key members of his staff

The following day, he gave a press conference apologizing again for his staff’s actions, and said he had fired top aide Bridget Kelly, effective immediately. “I’ve term her employment because she lied to me,” he said. He also decried the “callous indifference” displayed in the newly surfaced emails and texts. Watch the press conference:

Although Christie has not been directly implicated, many say the ‘bridgegate’ scandal could damage a presidential campaign for 2016 (should he decide to run). “Either Christie was lying, or he was completely in the dark about what his staff was doing under his authority,” writes The Federalist’s Sean Davis. “If it was a one-time screw-up, perhaps he could be absolved, but he was asked multiple times about the emerging scandal, and he denied any involvement—by himself or his staff—each time. None of the defenses now available to Christie—intentional deceit or intentional ignorance—paint him in a favorable light.”